tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3692148900807779.post2659812768458082653..comments2024-03-28T03:30:37.681-04:00Comments on It's Not Part of the Game...: With Apologies to Bobby Orr and Brian Burke, All Fights Are StupidAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422548471006288988noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3692148900807779.post-64966642950301346232013-12-01T11:23:28.696-05:002013-12-01T11:23:28.696-05:00Major leagues need to start showing responsibility...Major leagues need to start showing responsibility for their players and their games, rather than playing to profit. Using something that's dangerous (fighting) to deter something that is dangerous makes no sense. If a player does something stupid on ice he should be dealt with severely enough to act as a deterrent, and then the problem will be reduced. If the NHL's prohibitory actions aren't dealing with on-ice problems, then it's clear that they're not severe enough. Sure, stupid things will still happen, but that's just endemic of a violent game filled with bone-head players. When they do those stupid things.. suspend them for a year.. there are thousands of hockey players waiting to take their place and actually play the game. Once the fact kicks in that their pay-cheque isn't secure if they act up, things will change.Nicholas McRaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286245236883263382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3692148900807779.post-55013359465256904232013-11-02T15:43:46.694-04:002013-11-02T15:43:46.694-04:00The thing about this incident is that the way ever...The thing about this incident is that the way everything started is lost in the shuffle. Yes, Emery did a very stupid thing. After the Ward goal, Simmonds won the faceoff and carried the puck forward. He then proceeded to stop carrying the puck so he could lay an unnecessary hit on a Caps player then took a run at Wilson on the boards. The hit was not illegal, but it was clear Simmonds role that shift was to injure someone. Given the choice of (A) letting Simmonds run free until he DOES lay an illegal check to someones head and allow the refs and Shanahan sort out his fate at the risk of my teammates' safety, or (B) drop the gloves, take him off the ice, and protect my teammates from a potential blindside dangerous hit... I would prefer my team choose (B) every time. <br /><br />To legislate the game so that no stupid things happen would be a mistake. No matter how stringent you make the rules or how harsh you make the punishments, there will be instances that make everyone shake their heads in shame. Where you say "for every less-stupid fight... we have 10 times that many that are side-shows and needless interruptions", but I would contend that for every stupid incident we have to face (McSorley/Brashear, Bertuzzi/Moore, Emery or Cloutier....) we have 10 times as many instances of a player like Simmonds losing control of his emotions and crashing around dangerously. I cannot tell the future any better than you, so I can't say whether a ban on fighting would increase or decrease player safety. But to say its not a way to hold a player in check when he would rather target opponents than hold onto the puck is shortsighted and perpetuates Burke's point exactly about the anti-fighting stance. (And yes, I'm probably doing the same for the pro-fighting side in your view. That's the nature of the debate I suppose.)ThirdLineHeronoreply@blogger.com